Sky-scale - Acquirement

[Randulf.7614]

> @"Kaliwenda.3428" said:

> > @"Tanner Blackfeather.6509" said:

> > > @"coso.9173" said:

> > > > @"LucianDK.8615" said:

> > > > Seems people havent learned to use the skyscale properly. It makes the vertical content of HoT a breeze to navigate. With double or quadruple dash, you can shoot up to locations or ledges you couldnt get over in time with the griffon. Seriously -learn to use the dash!-

> > > > Tip: When wanting to fly down with a skyscale, dont. Its much slower than merely walking the skyscale over an edge and plummeting.

> > > >

> > > > For me, the griffon and springer have been collecting dust now. The skyscale is by far much more flexible in movement ability. And your space bar tapping finger will love you for no longer having to manually flap to keep up the griffon. I just cant play the flappyburd griffon anymore, so bad at flying ahead and missing a desirable target to land at by inches.

> > >

> > > Whats double or quadruple dash with the skyscale?

> >

> > Dash is the dodge (default V) barrel roll. During this you don't lose height, and if you start below the max altitude you can dash diagonally upwards, "breaking the ceiling". You can do two consecutive from full endurance; if you at that point use Bond of Vigor it instantly refills your endurance (instead of the accelerated gain the other mounts get) so you can do two more.

>

> I didn't know this either, thanks so much! I can't wait to try it out! :)

 

Same. I saw someone barrel roll the other day and it looked amazing. I tried double tap dodge to no avail, so ill try the proper keybind

[Ayrilana.1396]

> @"Goettel.4389" said:

> Having tried the rental, I decided I like my gryphon better, so I skipped it.

> That's one great thing about optional content :-)

 

The rental version and the one with maxed masteries are very different from each other.

[Goettel.4389]

> @"Ayrilana.1396" said:

> > @"Goettel.4389" said:

> > Having tried the rental, I decided I like my gryphon better, so I skipped it.

> > That's one great thing about optional content :-)

>

> The rental version and the one with maxed masteries are very different from each other.

 

Of course, I'll get round to it one day, but not rushed after trying.

[Reverielle.3972]

> @"FrigginPaco.4178" said:

> I blame a good portion of the negativity towards the skyscale to the fact that it's just another collection. After a while, I've grown to really hate the fact that there isnt *some* form of traditional quest log in the game. Combine that with some alterations to the collection and it could potentially *feel* better than just a collection.

>

> Yes yes, the Hero Panel does have the journal, but that's not what I mean...

 

Over the years our achievement panel has become more and more like a quest journal. And the skyscale quest is no different: We talk to Gorrik, he gives us the premise of what he'd like us to do to help the skyscale (our quest) then we go off and do it. Once done we return to Gorrik inform him of our success, and he tells us then what he's discovered/learned (sometimes after a time-gate) and we go off to help him and our skyscale again. Our achievement collect section just tracks the progress of whatever part of the quest we're on.

 

We don't have a quest journal per se like most every other mmo out there, but mechanically speaking Arenanet us using our Hero Panel to function 99% just like one, and the 'go here and collection X amount of item y' is just like all the horribly banal missions player love to lament about in in all the classic quest-grind mmos (for good reason).

 

It's a shame it's come to this but Arenanet have seemingly fallen back into the this very method they proclaimed they were avoiding with the whole 'event paradigm', especially when it comes to the collection achievements. I guess it was always going to be inevitable in some form or another, but it's unfortunate all the same.

[Sir Vincent III.1286]

> @"LucianDK.8615" said:

> Seems people havent learned to use the skyscale properly. It makes the vertical content of HoT a breeze to navigate. With double or quadruple dash, you can shoot up to locations or ledges you couldnt get over in time with the griffon. Seriously -learn to use the dash!-

> Tip: When wanting to fly down with a skyscale, dont. Its much slower than merely walking the skyscale over an edge and plummeting.

>

> For me, the griffon and springer have been collecting dust now. The skyscale is by far much more flexible in movement ability. And your space bar tapping finger will love you for no longer having to manually flap to keep up the griffon. I just cant play the flappyburd griffon anymore, so bad at flying ahead and missing a desirable target to land at by inches.

 

That's why you have a glider. You launch yourself from your mount and glide to your target destination. It has nothing to do withe the mount. You just have to learn how to use launch and glide.

 

You can even launch yourself from your Griffon or Skyscale, glide, then remount. I do this to heal their health to full while staying airborne.

 

What I hate about the Skyscale is sticking to a wall instead of landing on the ledge on the cliffside that my Griffon never had a problem landing on. Each mount has pros and cons, no one mount is superior to others.

 

If you like the Skyscale to travel everywhere, that's fine, others simply do not find the grind is worth the mount. I personally agree with them due to the fact that I can fly across the map with my Griffon while my Skyscale rans out of breath after a few seconds of flapping its wings.

[Sir Vincent III.1286]

> @"FrigginPaco.4178" said:

> I blame a good portion of the negativity towards the skyscale to the fact that it's just another collection. After a while, I've grown to really hate the fact that there isnt *some* form of traditional quest log in the game. Combine that with some alterations to the collection and it could potentially *feel* better than just a collection.

>

> Yes yes, the Hero Panel does have the journal, but that's not what I mean...

 

The collection is a quest chain you get from Gorrick. The story isn't that bad, it's just that the list of items to collect is rather long and boring.

[LucianDK.8615]

Its mount ability 1 you want to bind to a better key to use dash, ive set it to button 2 and 3. And button 1 will always be the firebreath/dive button. Much better access than to have it on V.

[Cyninja.2954]

> @"Sir Vincent III.1286" said:

> > @"LucianDK.8615" said:

> > Seems people havent learned to use the skyscale properly. It makes the vertical content of HoT a breeze to navigate. With double or quadruple dash, you can shoot up to locations or ledges you couldnt get over in time with the griffon. Seriously -learn to use the dash!-

> > Tip: When wanting to fly down with a skyscale, dont. Its much slower than merely walking the skyscale over an edge and plummeting.

> >

> > For me, the griffon and springer have been collecting dust now. The skyscale is by far much more flexible in movement ability. And your space bar tapping finger will love you for no longer having to manually flap to keep up the griffon. I just cant play the flappyburd griffon anymore, so bad at flying ahead and missing a desirable target to land at by inches.

>

> That's why you have a glider. You launch yourself from your mount and glide to your target destination. It has nothing to do withe the mount. You just have to learn how to use launch and glide.

>

> You can even launch yourself from your Griffon or Skyscale, glide, then remount. I do this to heal their health to full while staying airborne.

>

 

You do realize that you can double barrel roll (or quadruple barrel roll) on the skyscale, then still launch yourself and remount right? I don;t see how this is in any way an argument against the skyscale. On the contrary, the skyscale allows for an even complexer movement chain with far greater reach.

 

> @"Sir Vincent III.1286" said:

> What I hate about the Skyscale is sticking to a wall instead of landing on the ledge on the cliffside that my Griffon never had a problem landing on. Each mount has pros and cons, no one mount is superior to others.

>

 

That's an issue of practice and experience. Suffice to say, it becomes almost a non issue once a person is epxerienced enough with the skyscale.

 

> @"Sir Vincent III.1286" said:

> If you like the Skyscale to travel everywhere, that's fine, others simply do not find the grind is worth the mount. I personally agree with them due to the fact that I can fly across the map with my Griffon while my Skyscale rans out of breath after a few seconds of flapping its wings.

 

That's personal preferance but most players who have used the skyscale for a while all come to the same conclusion (at least from what can be read on the forums):

the bunny and griffon become obsolete, the raptor and jackal nearly obsolete and the only mounts with niche uses are the skimmer (for on water mounting and potentially immediately mounting the skyscale) and beetle for races and long distance land traversal.

[ZDragon.3046]

> @"maxan.7836" said:

> The most boring long winded game play to acquire a mount- No doubt you will need it in the future, it is the only reason I wast time getting it- Never been bored with the game- Played since Gw1- Playing another game atm - between had enough of this - Not so much fun-----------

 

it was not that bad when it first came out and everyone was doing it together you might have just missed prime time.

It was much better when you had parties and squads helping you along the way

[Menadena.7482]

I did not get it because I was concerned about something right at the start: the flashing lights (I have epilepsy) in the last bit and the vertigo right before it (for the same reason). I do not see it as being a hindrance, just one less thing to show off during fashion wars.

[Cuks.8241]

I only found the very first part in Dragonfall a bit boring. Looking for a bunch of hidden items on one map is not my cup of tea and I don't enjoy content that much if I feel I need to resort to guides to tell me where that super hidden item is. I like exploring but not pixel hunting every little bit of a map if perhaps there is an item behind some rock that is only seen from a narrow angle.

But from then on it was a joy. A nice mix of everything; events, jumping puzzles (loved those) and collecting items. Even the last part was fun for me, revisiting LW4 maps and just doing random stuff for currencies. I had most of them already in the bank so it wasn't tedious for me.

[Wizler.8192]

> @"Cyninja.2954" said:

> ...the bunny and griffon become obsolete, the raptor and jackal nearly obsolete...

 

Maybe I still use all mounts out of habit... using them for their intended purposes because that's what I'm used to and I like them.

 

[Bellefon.1259]

> @"LucianDK.8615" said:

> Its mount ability 1 you want to bind to a better key to use dash, ive set it to button 2 and 3. And button 1 will always be the firebreath/dive button. Much better access than to have it on V.

 

Agree with replacing the mount ability 1 (not to be confused with engage skill 1) default “V” keybind with the “2” key.

 

For anyone using their skyscale often, I’d add the suggestion to replace the mount ability 2 default “C” keybind with the “X” key.

 

_[EDIT: apologies — I’ve been reminded that X is Anet’s default for mount/dismount. I’d forgotten the original settings as I’ve been using X to swim down for several years now. Nonetheless, it still works for me.]_

 

Reasons as relates to skyscale:

- X to descend is a natural fit with default X to swim down in water (and the keybinds won’t conflict/overwrite each other);

- X is as close to the spacebar as C, allowing your thumb to continue toggling between ascent/descent smoothly; and

- A bonus is that moving your thumb just above X to S allows you to move backwards to both unstick, or adjust your descent for precise landings, thus consolidating your up/down/back movements to your thumb along a truer diagonal alignment of spacebar/X/S.

 

The “X” keybind logic is not as strong for griffon and beetle. For the griffon especially, the meaning of “rising” after “diving” is the opposite of “down”. Yet X is still not more arbitrary than C, so I see it as a nice refinement for heavy skyscale users.

[Ygdrasill.9135]

It took me around 2 weeks and that wasn't pushing as hard as I could have. There were certainly kittens uttered at certain points, but I was very glad to finally get the mount. Make no mistake, if you don't craft the craftable items needed, it will end up costing about the same as the Griffon, but gold isn't overly hard to earn. Also, Taco is your friend for the area currency collection.

[VAHNeunzehnsechundsiebzig.]

they already nerfed the whole thing into the ground and people are still complaining. Nice.

[Firebeard.1746]

> @"maxan.7836" said:

> The most boring long winded game play to acquire a mount- No doubt you will need it in the future, it is the only reason I wast time getting it- Never been bored with the game- Played since Gw1- Playing another game atm - between had enough of this - Not so much fun-----------

 

Take it in babysteps. Progression is progression, you don't have to do it all at once.

 

I understand you, in fact i think i quit for a bit too, but it's also totally awesome and worth it. It's my favorite. It won't be required, it's too hard to get for them to do that, but imagine them making it really nice to have.

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

> @"Bellefon.1259" said:

> > @"LucianDK.8615" said:

> > Its mount ability 1 you want to bind to a better key to use dash, ive set it to button 2 and 3. And button 1 will always be the firebreath/dive button. Much better access than to have it on V.

>

> Agree with replacing the mount ability 1 (not to be confused with engage skill 1) default “V” keybind with the “2” key.

>

> For anyone using their skyscale often, I’d add the suggestion to replace the mount ability 2 default “C” keybind with the “X” key.

>

> Reasons as relates to skyscale:

> - X to descend is a natural fit with default X to swim down in water (and the keybinds won’t conflict/overwrite each other);

> - X is as close to the spacebar as C, allowing your thumb to continue toggling between ascent/descent smoothly; and

> - A bonus is that moving your thumb just above X to S allows you to move backwards to both unstick, or adjust your descent for precise landings, thus consolidating your up/down/back movements to your thumb along a truer diagonal alignment of spacebar/X/S.

>

> The “X” keybind logic is not as strong for griffon and beetle. For the griffon especially, the meaning of “rising” after “diving” is the opposite of “down”. Yet X is still not more arbitrary than C, so I see it as a nice refinement for heavy skyscale users.

 

How odd. My 'X' key (default) mounts and unmounts my Mounts. So, overwriting it would surely mess me up, lol.

[Donari.5237]

I say bind Mount Ability 1 to your Dodge key since it can do double duty, Mount Ability 2 to a key immediately adjacent to that, and probably both of them next to the space bar since all three of those keys can need pressing in rapid succession. This works better for me on griffon than skyscale -- somehow I find the down key awkward and not instinctive to press on that one mount -- but it does the job. And skyscale was mostly a fun trip for me, other than the forced day long time gates (I got it pre nerf to that), which fortunately happened over a weekend when I had other things to do right after the reset log in anyway.

[Bellefon.1259]

> @"Inculpatus cedo.9234" said:

> > @"Bellefon.1259" said:

> > > @"LucianDK.8615" said:

> > > Its mount ability 1 you want to bind to a better key to use dash, ive set it to button 2 and 3. And button 1 will always be the firebreath/dive button. Much better access than to have it on V.

> >

> > Agree with replacing the mount ability 1 (not to be confused with engage skill 1) default “V” keybind with the “2” key.

> >

> > For anyone using their skyscale often, I’d add the suggestion to replace the mount ability 2 default “C” keybind with the “X” key.

> >

> > Reasons as relates to skyscale:

> > - X to descend is a natural fit with default X to swim down in water (and the keybinds won’t conflict/overwrite each other);

> > - X is as close to the spacebar as C, allowing your thumb to continue toggling between ascent/descent smoothly; and

> > - A bonus is that moving your thumb just above X to S allows you to move backwards to both unstick, or adjust your descent for precise landings, thus consolidating your up/down/back movements to your thumb along a truer diagonal alignment of spacebar/X/S.

> >

> > The “X” keybind logic is not as strong for griffon and beetle. For the griffon especially, the meaning of “rising” after “diving” is the opposite of “down”. Yet X is still not more arbitrary than C, so I see it as a nice refinement for heavy skyscale users.

>

> How odd. My 'X' key (default) mounts and unmounts my Mounts. So, overwriting it would surely mess me up, lol.

 

You're right -- my bad. I've changed so many keybinds over the years that I forget Anet's original defaults. Looks like "swim down" is unassigned by default, and yes, X is mount/dismount.

[eldrin.6471]

Sky-scale collection is way to long and grindy.

[Game of Bones.8975]

While it was long and tiresome, I have yet to come across a place (outside Dragonfall) where you have to use the mount to finish a quest.

 

The actual cost of the griffon was much more. I'm sure those people without the disposable gold would rather grind than not have the mount altogether.

 

For all intents and purposes, elite mounts started with the griffon and continued with the skyscale.

[GW Noob.6038]

I just finished crafting the HOPE pistol a couple weeks ago and...I will never do another collection for anything ever again! :anguished: :D

[Melech.4308]

I got the Skyscale. Sure it was a grind, and it took me more than a week of "on again off again" grinding, but when I did get it, it was completely worth it for what you can do with the skyscale.

[nottsgman.8206]

it's funny how some say don't base the mount on the rental, when having fun on the rental was exactly what made me start working on getting it. I still have a long way to go, but I knew it would be a long collection. so far I'm having fun doing it slowly

[Taygus.4571]

> @"VAHNeunzehnsechundsiebzig.3618" said:

> they already nerfed the whole thing into the ground and people are still complaining. Nice.

 

They only changed one aspect of the grind and that was some of the daily time limits...the actual amount of work was not nerfed.

 

in saying that, it took me 3-4 weeks playing less than 2 hours a day. Its really not bad (tho I complained about it constant in my guild xD.)

Tge skyscale has been absolutely worth the grind. completely.